SCHUMER, FOLLOWING HISTORIC PENSION FIX LAW HE PASSED, ANNOUNCES HUDSON VALLEY IBEW UNION TO RECEIVE $45+ MILLION TO RESTORE AT-RISK PENSIONS FOR 850 UNION WORKERS AND THEIR FAMILIES
NY’s International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1783, Representing Hundreds Of Electrical Workers, Who – Without Action – After A Lifetime Of Hard Work Would Have No Pension Benefits Remaining By 2030
As Schumer’s First Major Act As Majority Leader, He Secured Pension Fix So Union Members Could Get Hard-Earned Pensions & Relief They Need And Earned
Schumer: Hudson Valley IBEW Union Workers & Families Can Breathe Sigh Of Relief With The Restored Pensions They Rightfully Earned
U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer today announced that, after years of advocacy to secure relief for ailing multiemployer pension plans for union workers, New York’s International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 1783 Fund covering electrical workers in the Hudson Valley will receive an approximately $45.9 million pension-fix from the Schumer-led American Rescue Plan. The federal relief will restore full pension benefits for approximately 850 union workers and their families.
“Today, I am saying a promise made is a promise kept to hard-working union families at risk of losing their pensions through no fault of their own – at more than $45 million for 850 IBEW workers across the Hudson Valley and New York. These are the Hudson Valley union electricians who repair machinery and toil in the warehouses that drive our economy forward. They worked hard, played by the rules, and paid into pension plans that were at risk of being drastically cut or even completely disappearing,” said Senator Schumer. “I’m very proud to deliver over $45 million in federal relief to help hundreds of union construction workers ensure their hard-earned pension benefits and the retirement security they provide remain intact for many years into the future and ensure they can retire after a lifetime of hard work. I made sure as my first act as Majority Leader to pass the American Rescue Plan with a key provision to deliver the pension relief to our union brothers and sisters and their families they have desperately needed and earned. New York is and will forever be a union town and I always will work with my union brothers and sisters to deliver the benefits they deserve.”
“One of the most concerning issues that will impact every American, not just Union members, is the inability to have retirement security. Until now, I have not seen a politician accomplish anything toward solving the massive and unrecognized retirement crisis that most Americans face. Our lives should not be that we work until we are too sick or drop dead at work because we cannot afford to retire. Unlike the 401k retirement plans that routinely get wiped out by market shifts, defined benefit pension plans promise a guaranteed future. But, the hardworking people who relied on those guarantees were nearly left destitute. Let's all be thankful that Majority Leader Senator Schumer led the Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Relief Act into successful passage through the American Rescue Plan. It has been the only meaningful accomplishment toward resolving the retirement crisis in some meaningful way in my past 25 years as a labor advocate,” said IBEW 1430 Local President Jordan El-Hag, which also includes IBEW Local 1783 workers following its merger in 1988.
Tom Carey, President of the AFL-CIO Westchester Central Putnam Labor Body said, “Hardworking union workers contribute to our communities every day, trusting that the pensions they have earned will be available to them when they retire. When these pension plans faced jeopardy following the 2008 recession, many workers and retirees began to worry about their ability to achieve a dignified retirement. Thanks to Senator Schumer, who led the Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Relief Act into successful passage through the American Rescue Plan, union workers, retirees, and their families can rest assured that the benefits they earned will be available to them in full for as long as they need them. Once again, Senator Schumer shows organized labor that we have a true friend in Washington.”
Schumer said the Armonk-based IBEW Local 1783 Fund, which covers approximately 850 workers in the communications, electrical manufacturing, professional technical and clerical, and warehouse and supply industries, will receive approximately $45.9 million in special financial assistance. The IBEW plan was projected to become insolvent and run out of money in 2030. Without the Special Financial Assistance (SFA) Program funded through the American Rescue Plan, the Local 1783 IBEW Plan would have been required to reduce participants’ benefits to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) guarantee levels upon plan insolvency, which is roughly 25% below the benefits payable under the terms of the plan. That means, if not for the SFA Program, participants in the plan would have seen their monthly pension benefits reduced by roughly 25%. The SFA Program will enable the plan to continue to pay retirement benefits without reduction for many years into the future.
Schumer fought to include the Butch Lewis Act in the American Rescue Plan – securing pension solvency in his very first major bill as majority leader. Before the American Rescue Plan over 200 multiemployer plans were on pace to become insolvent in the near term, risking benefits for millions of workers and their families. The law created the Special Financial Assistance program administered by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to protect benefits for millions of workers, reverse harsh pension cuts, and put existing plans on a path to solvency through 2051. To date, the program has provided billions in federal assistance to support thousands of construction industry workers.
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